A group of soldiers slated to deploy to east Africa earlier this year have been stranded at their mobilization sites since October awaiting movement, an Army spokesperson confirmed to Military Times.
The delay, which an Army spokesperson attributed to quarantine requirements and a “limited number of chartered flights from Fort Bliss to [Baltimore/Washington International Airport] and on to Africa,” has resulted in some troops living in quarantine for more than 50 days, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation.
The approximately 40 delayed soldiers are primarily individual augmentees to headquarters elements on the ground in east Africa, the source added. They include troops from the National Guard and Army Reserve, in addition to small medical elements and civil affairs teams from the active-duty Army.
The group has completed its pre-deployment training requirements, and they are maintaining quarantine in order to be ready for movement once transportation is available.
The spokesperson said the delay is not connected to the Defense Department’s move, officially announced Friday, that it was pulling troops out of Somalia and positioning them elsewhere within Africa Command.
The delayed troops spent Thanksgiving in quarantine at Camp McGregor in New Mexico, and Fort Hood and Fort Bliss in Texas.
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One of the delayed soldiers told Military Times they “just want to get [into theater] and do their assigned missions.” The soldier requested anonymity when discussing their situation, fearing retaliation from their chain of command.
The breakdown preventing the soldiers’ deployment, according to a source familiar with the situation, is that until this week, no airline had submitted a bid to provide the charter flight for the troops from Fort Bliss to the Baltimore airport, which is the departure point for rotator flights to east Africa.
In the event that the charter flight does not occur, as was the case for prior attempts to move the troops, “there is no backup plan if this plane does not get [the soldiers] to BWI on time for the rotator [to east Africa],” explained the source.
“Soldiers are scheduled to depart [for BWI and transportation to Africa] on the next available charter flight, and we are developing options to expedite future flights,” an Army spokesperson told Military Times.
“Once again, we all have confirmed seats on the next rotator [to east Africa],” said the stranded soldier, who expressed frustration and doubt about whether the group would make it to Baltimore in time to deploy with the next rotator flight.
The spokesperson declined to answer a question regarding a backup plan for transporting the troops to Baltimore for deployment to east Africa, instead reiterating their statement that they were “developing options to expedite future flights.”
Davis Winkie covers the Army for Military Times. He studied history at Vanderbilt and UNC-Chapel Hill, and served five years in the Army Guard. His investigations earned the Society of Professional Journalists' 2023 Sunshine Award and consecutive Military Reporters and Editors honors, among others. Davis was also a 2022 Livingston Awards finalist.
